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The Amazing World of Gumball
The Amazing World of Gumball (known also as Gumball) is a British-American children's animated television series created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network. Produced primarily by Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe, it first aired on May 3, 2011.2 The series revolves around the life of Gumball Watterson, a 12-year-old3 cat who attends middle school in the fictional city of Elmore. Accompanied by his adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, he frequently finds himself involved in various shenanigans around the city, during which he interacts with his other family members—sister Anais and parents Nicole and Richard—and an extended supporting cast of characters. Bocquelet based several of the series' characters on rejected characters from his previous commercial work and making its premise a mixture of "family shows and school shows", which Cartoon Network was heavily interested in. He pitched The Amazing World of Gumball to the network and Turner Broadcasting executive Daniel Lennard subsequently greenlit production of the series. It is the first series to be produced by Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe, and is currently co-produced with Studio SOI and Great Marlborough Productions Limited. One unique feature of the series is its lack of stylistic unity. Characters are designed, filmed, and animated using different styles and techniques (stylised traditional animation, puppetry, CGI, stop motion, Flash animation, live action, etc.)4 The series has made multiple stylistic changes throughout its production, specifically in the transition between its first and second seasons. Such changes include character redesigns, an increase in the use of VFX, higher quality animation, and a shift towards a much more satirical comedic style. Production When Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe was created in 2007, Ben Bocquelet was hired to help people pitch their projects to the network. However, when the studio decided to have its employees all pitch their own ideas,5 he decided to take some rejected characters he had created for commercials and put them together in one series set in a school.6 Daniel Lennard, vice president of Original Series and Development at Turner Broadcasting System Europe, was impressed by the premise and approved production of the series.7 The first series to be produced by Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe,8 thirty-six episodes were produced for its first season in collaboration with Studio SOI, Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited,910 and Dandelion Studios.11 Premise Further information: List of The Amazing World of Gumball characters The series revolves around the life of a 12-year-old cat named Gumball Watterson (Logan Grove, seasons 1–2 and season 3 episode: "The Kids"; Jacob Hopkins, rest of season 3–present) and his frequent shenanigans in the fictional American city of Elmore, accompanied by his adopted goldfish brother/best friend Darwin (Kwesi Boakye, season 1–2 and season 3 episode: "The Kids"; Terrell Ransom, Jr., rest of season 3–present). Gumball's other family members—his intellectual sister Anais (Kyla Rae Kowalewski) and stay-at-home father Richard (Dan Russell), both rabbits, and workaholic mother Nicole (Teresa Gallagher), a cat—often find themselves involved in Gumball's exploits. Gumball attends school with his siblings at Elmore Junior High, where throughout the series he interacts with his various middle school classmates, most prominently his crush Penny Fitzgerald (also Gallagher). One prominent feature of the series since its third season is "The Void", a dimension inside of Elmore where all the universe's mistakes reside. This includes references to aspects of reality as well as in-series elements. Rob (Hugo Harold-Harrison, David Warner for episodes "The Nemesis" to "The Disaster") is a background character from the first two seasons who became trapped in The Void after becoming "irrelevant". He later escapes in Season 3, after which he becomes Gumball's main antagonist. He is shown to be aware of his fictional existence in the Season 4 episode "The Disaster", and his hatred towards Gumball is a result of his role as the protagonist Episodes See Also:Episode List The first season of The Amazing World of Gumball premiered on May 3, 2011 with the episode "The DVD" and ended on March 13, 2012, with "The Fight".13 A 40-episode second season was announced on March 17, 2011, prior to the premiere of the series' first season.14 Speaking of the renewal, executive producer Daniel Lennard stated: "Commissioning a second series before the first show has aired shows our absolute commitment and belief in the series and we're hoping audiences the world over will embrace this show as much as we have."14 The Amazing World of Gumball was renewed for a third season consisting of 40 episodes in October 2012. In February 2013, the series was put on hiatus, but returned in June 2013.15 On September 6, 2016, Ben Bocquelet claimed that the sixth season would have been the show's final season.16 However, on October 8, 2016, it was announced that only Bocquelet would be leaving, and that the show would continue without him.17 Crossovers On September 17, 2015, series creator Ben Bocquelet announced on his Twitter page that a crossover episode with another Cartoon Network show would air as part of the fifth season.18 Gumball had a cameo appearance on the Uncle Grandpa episode "Pizza Eve", along with other Cartoon Network characters from currently running and ended cartoons.19 The fifth season episode The Boredom featured characters from Clarence, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa making cameo appearances.20 Comic On June 18, 2014, a comic book adaptation of the series, written by Frank Gibson, was released. Art for the collection of works is handled by Boom! Studios.21 Reception Critical reception In a favourable review, Brian Lowry of Variety described the series as "mostly a really clever spin on domestic chaos" and "first-rate silliness."22 Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly was also positive, writing: "There are few examples of mainstream children's programming as wildly imaginative, as visually and narratively daring, as The Amazing World of Gumball."23 Reviews from the Daily Mail praised The Amazing World of Gumball as a "gloriously surreal chunk of fast and funny telly"24 and "the kind of clever children's comedy that parents can also enjoy."25 The A.V. Club's Noel Murray graded the DVD release of the series' first 12 episodes a B+, writing that "what sets [The Amazing World of Gumball] apart from the many other super-silly, semi-anarchic cartoons on cable these days is that it features such a well-developed world, where even with the eclectic character designs, there are recognisable traits and tendencies."26 Wired writer Z noted that the series "manages to have genuine heart even as the plots themselves transition from well-worn TV tropes to all out madness."27 Ratings The May 3, 2011, series premiere of The Amazing World of Gumball was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States.28 Awards and nominations Possible film In an interview with The Times newspaper, series creator Ben Bocquelet mentioned plans for a feature film based on the series.43 However, after Bocquelet claimed that the show would be ending after the show's sixth season,44 he stated that he doubts that a film would be made.45 However, on October 8, 2016, it was announced that it would be only Bocquelet would be leaving, and that the show would continue without him.46 Home media Broadcast The first and second seasons have been released on Cartoon Network channels in over 126 countries, with the third season rolling out through 2014.51 On December 1, 2014, The Amazing World of Gumball began airing on Boomerang in the United States, alongside its broadcasts on Cartoon Network.52 References in Popular Culture Voice Actors Season One * Logan Grove as Gumball * Kwesi Boakye as Darwin * Jessica McDonald as Masami, Carrie, Jamie, Rachel, Molly, and Daisy the Donkey * Dan Russell as Richard, Tina, and Marvin Finklehimer, Dr. Butt, Patrick, and The Ripley 2000 Manager * Teresa Gallagher as Nicole, Penny, Margaret Robinson, Teri, and Carmen * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Anais and Rosie * Sandra Searles Dickinson as Granny Jojo, Karen, and the Cupcake Woman * Lewis MacLeod as Rocky, Principal Brown, Miss Simian, Mr.Small, and the Doughnut Sherriff * Kerry Shale as Larry, Bobert, Leslie, Idaho, Alan, Hector, and Sal Left Thumb * Rupert Degas as Tobias, Clayton, Mr. Robinson, Bean, and the Newspaper Employee. Season Two * Logan Grove as Gumball * Kwesi Boakye as Darwin * Jessica McDonald as Masami, Carrie, Jamie, and Daisy the Donkey * Dan Russell as Richard, Jealousy, Marvin Finklehimer, Patrick, Bandage Doctor, Doughnut Sherriff, Hot Dog Guy, and the French Fries. * Teresa Gallagher as Nicole, Penny, Teri, School Nurse, Sicilliana, and Margaret Robinson * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Anais * Kerry Shale as Larry, Bobert, Leslie, and Hector * Hugo Harold-Harrison as Tobias, Idaho, Alan and Miss Simian * Max Cazier as Clayton and Ocho * Adam Long as Mr. Small * Mic Graves as Banana Joe and William * Sandra Searles Dickinson as Granny Jojo, Mrs. Jotunheim, and Cupcake Woman * Brian Blessed as Santa Claus Season Three * Logan Grove (one episode only), Jacob Hopkins as Gumball, Zach * Kwesi Boakye (one episode only), Terrell Ransom Jr. as Darwin * Dan Russell as Richard, Coach, Patrick, Scary Old Man, Mr. Chanax, Chicken Bucket, and Marvin Finklehimer * Teresa Gallagher as Nicole, Penny and Margaret Robinson * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Anais * Sandra Searles Dickinson as Granny Jojo, and Felicity Parham * Shane Rimmer as Louie * Maria Teresa Creasey as Jamie * Simon Lipkin as Rocky * Clive Russell as Manly Warrior * Sir Derek Jacobi as the narrator in "The Lie" Season Four * Jacob Hopkins as Gumball * Terrell Ransom, Jr. as Darwin * Dan Russell as Richard and Marvin Finklehimer * Teresa Gallagher as Nicole, Penny and Margaret Robinson * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Anais * Gillian Hanna as Betty * Naomi McDonald as Clare * Rich Fulcher as Frankie * Sir Derek Jacobi as The Moon in "The Night" * David Warner as Rob Season Five * Jacob Hopkins as Gumball * Terrell Ransom, Jr. as Darwin * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Anais * Teresa Gallagher as Nicole * Dan Russell as Richard * Richard Overall as Josh